


payback

by hajimetooru_ittetsu



Category: Shingeki no Kyojin | Attack on Titan
Genre: Gen
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-09-19
Updated: 2020-09-19
Packaged: 2021-03-08 03:40:45
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,017
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26549143
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/hajimetooru_ittetsu/pseuds/hajimetooru_ittetsu
Summary: Captain Levi returns to the bar he was partly responsible for trashing, much to the dismay of Elias the bar owner.Takes place after the coup d'état.
Comments: 4
Kudos: 41





	payback

**Author's Note:**

> This one is based on chapter 58 of the manga and episode 2 of S3 pt 1! Remember the old guy in the bar Levi had the showdown with Kenny in?  
> 
> 
> Yep, that's him. I named him Elias here so...enjoy!

Elias poured beer into a mug, offering a friendly smile at the man sitting at the counter in front of him. The bar was bustling with noise at that time of the day, filled to the brim with rambunctious and merry people drinking the day away. He served the beer to his customer, who nodded his thanks, and turned around to clean some of his dirty mugs.

"Elias!" Anton, one of his regular customers, called out to him cheerfully from across the bar. "Another round please!"

"You got it!" Elias hollered back. He moved to grab a bottle of Anton's favoured beer and was about to pour him another mug when the doors of the bar were suddenly flung open, signalling the entrance of a new customer. He turned to greet the newcomer and—

Oh.

Oh  _ no. _ Oh _ no, no, no, no, no. _ Not  _ him. _

A hush fell over the entire room as Captain Levi of the Survey Corps stepped into the small bar, his cold steel-gray eyes silently roaming the room. He was dressed immaculately in a black suit and a white shirt, a clean white cravat tucked around his throat, a stark contrast to his rumpled appearance when Elias had seen him last.

Oh _god no_ , why was he here? Elias's eyes flickered to the bar's broken window—the window that Captain Levi had shattered with a chair just the previous week—and gulped. He could still recall the utter fear that had wracked his body as he listened to the tense exchange between the captain and the hatted man, and the sheer terror that had coursed through his veins when the captain had shot at the man blindly but perfectly with Elias's rifle, the deafening sound of the gunshot a shock to his weak heart. He hadn't been able to move even after Captain Levi had thrown the rifle back at him and hurled a chair through his window as a decoy, even as shouts rang out across the rooftops and bodies fell to the pavement with a sickening crunch. He could safely say that that was the most traumatic experience in his entire lifetime.

Elias stood there, bottle of beer forgotten in his hand, and watched as the captain strode up to the counter and sat down on one of the stools. The customer he had just served, who was seated right beside the captain, looked like he either wanted to make a run for it or grovel at the captain's feet and sing his praises. Elias distantly noticed that his own body was trembling like a leaf and that he was breaking out into a cold sweat.

Captain Levi's steely eyes locked onto him and that finally managed to jolt him out of his nervous stupour.  _ Get a hold of yourself, Elias, _ he scolded himself.

"W-welcome to our establishment!" Elias stammered out, heart thrumming a rapid beat in his chest. The entire bar was silent, everyone nervously shifting their gazes between the two and watching the exchange. Anton, who had been one of the customers present during the fight last week, was staring at the famed captain with a mixture of fear and respect in his eyes.

"No need to be so tense, old man," Captain Levi said in a bored tone, eyes boring a hole in Elias's face. "I'm only here as a guest."

Elias couldn't help the sigh of relief that escaped his lips at that. "W-what can I get you?" he asked a little hesitantly.

"Give me a mug of your best liquor."

"Right away, sir. Um, I mean, Captain."

Captain Levi looked mildly amused at his obvious nervousness, though it was kind of hard to tell from the default emotionless expression on his face.

Elias was reluctant to turn his back on the captain but it wasn't like he had a choice. He busied himself with readying the requested liquor, trying to ignore the extremely intimidating presence at his back.

The bar eventually began to fill up with noise again as everyone turned to their tablemates and began whispering and gossiping with one another.

The captain's steely eyes watched Elias as he shakily set the mug of liquor in front of him and stepped back. He picked up the mug and glanced down at the amber liquid before taking a big gulp.

"Not bad," he murmured in approval, lowering the mug. Elias inadvertently preened at the compliment.

The other patrons of the bar were trying to look like they weren't avidly listening in. Elias fidgeted uncomfortably as he watched Captain Levi drain the remaining alcohol in one go and set the mug down on the table gently. His eyes flickered back up to Elias's face. Elias straightened instinctively.

He almost flinched when the captain dropped a heavy pouch onto the counter. Judging by the sound it made, the pouch was filled with coins.

"S-sir?" Elias said in confusion. "That's... that's way too much for one mug..." He trailed off when the captain stood up.

"It's for last time," Captain Levi told him with a glint in his eyes. He nodded at Elias once and turned to leave. Elias gaped at his retreating back in shock, trying to comprehend what had just happened. Just as the captain was about to push open the doors, Elias finally came to his senses.

"Ah, thank you so much, Captain Levi!" Elias quickly yelled out. The captain froze almost imperceptibly for a tenth of a second, hand motionless on one of the doors, before pushing open the door and leaving the bar as if he hadn't heard him at all.

The moment he was gone, the entire bar exploded with noise.

"Did you see that?! That was Captain Levi!"

"Was that really Humanity's Strongest Soldier?"

"He's shorter than I expected."

"I was here during the fight last week you know, he was crazy good."

"Really? Tell me about it!"

"I want to see him kill a Titan!"

"I wonder how many Titans he's killed!"

Elias smiled to himself, eyeing the pouch resting on the counter.

Maybe the captain wasn't so bad after all.


End file.
